Next, the F-35s will fly from Edwards to Patuxent River, the same location choosen by the Italians for their East-West ferry flight in February.
From Patuxent River and supported by KDC-10 tanker aircraft, the jet will fly non-stop to Leeuwarden,
arriving there supposedly on the evening of 23 May.
Air-to-air refuelling was succesfully tested just weeks ago.
Whereas Dutch MoD spokespersons previously and constantly mentioned only one F-35 heading for the Netherlands,
the amount of support flights does not rule out both Dutch F-35s actually crossing the Atlantic.
That way, the Dutch seem to make sure that at least one F-35 makes it all the way to Leeuwarden – in a best case scenario, both aircraft actually appear over the Netherlands.
NL lijkt me logisch (toch?), we hebben er 10 staan daar op Tucson. Kijk wat de Italianen deden paar weken terug, zat ook geen US kist tussen.witje wrote:Zouden AZ F-16's zijn, maar of t nederlandse zijn of amerikaanse weet ik niet
Leuk verhaal maar op welke bron/info is dat gebaseerd?doubleugly wrote:Slechts 1 KLu LightningII, de andere mag de plas niet over van de Amerikanen omdat er apparatuur ingebouwd zit dat (nog) niet buiten de VS mag. Dus een Yanken bak erbij?
The two Dutch F-35As will takeoff from Edwards and land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. After fueling up and running some checks, the duo will head out on their roughly seven-hour transatlantic flight followed by two RNLAF KDC-10 aerial refuelers and a NATO C-17 carrying gear and spare parts.
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